The case is at the center of Grants Pass, Oregon, a city of 40,000 people that in 2013 passed an anti-camping law that directly targets unsheltered communities and carries fines and possible jail time. began to actively implement the law. In 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court's ruling that Grants Pass' actions violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
“Can you imagine anything more cruel and mundane than putting someone in jail because they had a blanket?” Jesse Rabinowitz, communications director for the National Homeless Law Center and moderator of Monday's demonstration, told the court. He told the crowd outside. “Do you think that's fair to you?”
In the morning chill, hundreds of demonstrators lay under emergency blankets in the sun near the steps of the Supreme Court. It's a symbolic nod to the $295 tickets Grants Pass officials were handing out to sleep outside in a blanket, Rabinowitz said in remarks before Monday's rally. crowd. Many of the protesters had come from places like New York City and Philadelphia to attend the rally in Washington, D.C.
The arguments before the country's highest court came as homelessness policies across the country were in full swing. Last year saw the country's homeless numbers soar, the aftermath of record inflation, and the end of coronavirus-era eviction protections and rent relief programs. A group of conservative activists then rallied in the state legislature and passed an aggressive criminalization law similar to the Grants Pass approach. Housing activists are countering this by claiming soaring rents and a lack of affordable housing.
Speakers at the rally included heads of major advocacy organizations, including Diane Yentel of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Anne Oliva of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and Donald Whitehead of the National Coalition for the Homeless. A series of
“You know, the president lives in public housing, so we should be able to do something for everyone,” said Rev. William Barber II of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at the Yale Divinity School, criticizing the White House. he said.
At one point during the speakers, Rabinowitz noted that Debra Blake, one of the original plaintiffs in the case currently before the court, passed away in 2021.
“She lived outdoors for 10 years,” Rabinowitz told the crowd. “Debra died without a home in the richest country in the world.”
“No, she was killed!” shouted a woman pushing a walker in the crowd. “She was killed! Tell her the truth!”
That person is Robin Martin, a 68-year-old former security guard from New York City. He was once homeless and has been in supportive housing for the past year. Her situation hasn't worked out for her, but she can't leave it.
“I've been drug-free for 29 years,” said Martin, who came to Washington, D.C., with the activist group Vocal New York. “They put me in housing for drug addicts. Why would they put me there? I can't be there. I'm scared. So do I have to be homeless again? ?”
Deborah Woolford, a social worker from Baltimore, attended the rally along with fellow supporters. “We are here to ensure that our chronically homeless clients have the right to affordable and sustainable housing,” she said. “How can they think about sending their kids to school or getting a job if you're worried about where you're going to sleep at night?”
Wilfrado Ramos, 48, arrived with the group from Philadelphia, his T-shirt emblazoned with the postal code of the notorious drug-infested Kensington neighborhood. Not only is it Ramos' home, but it's also where he found himself homeless 10 years ago.
“I broke my leg and was prescribed Percocet,” he said. From there, he began using street opioids. That addiction caused him to lose his home and end up on the streets.
Ramos eventually came clean through the program. The next step is housing, he said. He was currently staying at his friend's house and was waiting for a housing voucher to be issued. But he waited a year — a tough year for a recovering addict, he said.
“I still carry within me what I need to ease the pain.”
Pushing a stroller with her 2-year-old baby, Ramos said she continues to wait for her voucher.
